Developmental Biology

Obox4 promotes zygotic genome activation upon loss of Dux

1. Youjia Guo
2. Tomohiro Kitano
3. Kimiko Inoue
4. Kensaku Murano
5. Michiko Hirose
6. Ten D Li
7. Akihiko Sakashita
8. Hirotsugu Ishizu
9. Narumi Ogonuki
10. Shogo Matoba
11. Masayuki Sato
12. Atsuo Ogura
13. Haruhiko Siomi

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study presents an important finding that Obox4 and Dux act redundantly in regulating zygotic genome activation in mice. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid. The work will be of interest to researchers interested in early embryo development and epigenetic reprogramming.

Reviewed by eLife

A Lifeact-EGFP quail for studying actin dynamics in vivo

1. Yanina D. Alvarez
2. Marise van der Spuy
3. Jian Xiong Wang
4. Ivar Noordstra
5. Siew Zhuan Tan
6. Murron Carroll
7. Alpha S. Yap
8. Olivier Serralbo
9. Melanie D. White

Reviewed by Review Commons

Tuning apicobasal polarity and junctional recycling in the hemogenic endothelium orchestrates the morphodynamic complexity of emerging pre-hematopoietic stem cells

1. Léa Torcq
2. Sara Majello
3. Catherine Vivier
4. Anne A Schmidt

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study presents a detailed characterization of two distinct cellular morphologies of haematopoietic stem cells undergoing endothelial to haematopoietic transition in zebrafish. It brings new information on how regulation of apico-basal polarity influences cellular behaviour, shape, and interaction with neighbouring cells. The evidence supporting the existence of these two distinct morphologies is convincing, using state-of-the-art confocal microscopy and image analysis of 2D-cartography.

Reviewed by eLife

In vivo AGO-APP identifies a module of microRNAs cooperatively controlling exit from neural stem cell state

1. Karine Narbonne-Reveau
2. Andrea Erni
3. Norbert Eichner
4. Surbhi Surbhi
5. Gunter Meister
6. Christophe Beclin
7. Cédric Maurange
8. Harold Cremer

Reviewed by Review Commons

Identification and characterization of intermediate states in mammalian neural crest cell epithelial to mesenchymal transition and delamination

1. Ruonan Zhao
2. Emma L Moore
3. Madelaine M Gogol
4. Jay R Unruh
5. Zulin Yu
6. Allison R Scott
7. Yan Wang
8. Naresh K Rajendran
9. Paul A Trainor

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This fundamental study reports compelling findings that intermediate states exist in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) during natural development and differentiation of mammalian neural crest cells, similar to recent reports in cancer. The authors determined that there were at least two paths to delamination and migration - one that occurs during S-phase of cell cycle and another during G2/M phase, and that the process of delamination is not restricted to cell fate. Finally, the authors showed that expression of Dlc1 may be used to identify cells in an intermediate state of EMT as well as their spatial location in the mouse embryo. The work will be of interest to developmental biologists, neurobiologists and cancer researchers.

Reviewed by eLife

Actin polymerization drives lumen formation in a human epiblast model

1. Dhiraj Indana
2. Andrei Zakharov
3. Youngbin Lim
4. Alexander R. Dunn
5. Nidhi Bhutani
6. Vivek B. Shenoy
7. Ovijit Chaudhuri

Reviewed by preLights

Essential function of transmembrane transcription factor MYRF in promoting transcription of miRNA lin-4 during C. elegans development

1. Zhimin Xu
2. Zhao Wang
3. Lifang Wang
4. Yingchuan B Qi

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  The microRNA lin-4, originally discovered in C. elegans, has a key role in controlling developmental timing across species, but how its expression is developmentally regulated is poorly understood. Here, the authors provide convincing evidence that two MYRF transcription factors are essential positive regulators of lin-4 during early C. elegans larval development. These results provide important insight into the molecular control of developmental timing that could have significant implications for understanding these processes in more complex systems.

Reviewed by eLife

Characterization of Alternative Splicing During Mammalian Brain Development Reveals the Magnitude of Isoform Diversity and its Effects on Protein Conformational Changes

1. Leila Haj Abdullah Alieh
2. Beatriz Cardoso de Toledo
3. Anna Hadarovich
4. Agnes Toth-Petroczy
5. Federico Calegari

Reviewed by Review Commons

Inhibitory G proteins play multiple roles to polarize sensory hair cell morphogenesis

1. Amandine Jarysta
2. Abigail LD Tadenev
3. Matthew Day
4. Barry Krawchuk
5. Benjamin E Low
6. Michael V Wiles
7. Basile Tarchini

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study examines an important aspect of the development of the auditory system, the role of guanine nucleotide-binding protein subunits, GNAIs, in stereociliary bundle formation and orientation, by examining bundle phenotypes in multiple compound GNAI mutants. The experiments are highly rigorous and thorough and include detailed quantifications of bundle morphologies and changes. The depth and care of the study are impressive, with convincing results regarding the roles of GNAIs in stereociliary bundle development. Further, the reviewers believe this to be the definitive study of the role of GNAIs in bundle orientation and development.

Reviewed by eLife

Inhibition of the serine protease HtrA1 by SerpinE2 suggests an extracellular proteolytic pathway in the control of neural crest migration

1. Edgar M Pera
2. Josefine Nilsson-De Moura
3. Yuriy Pomeshchik
4. Laurent Roybon
5. Ivana Milas

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This fundamental work substantially advances our understanding of cell migration, especially in that of cranial neural crest. The additional evidence provided to support the conclusion is exceptional, with rigorous biochemical assays for materials used and with intensive genetic interventions. The work will be of broad interest to developmental biologists and cell biologists.

Reviewed by eLife